


Operation Ghost

by cauxtion



Category: Call of Duty (Video Games)
Genre: Eventual Smut, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, PTSD, Roach is a bean, Shepherd is an arse, Some angst, Supportive Soap, Their love takes its time but it gets there, Violence, War, side character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:21:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21805831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cauxtion/pseuds/cauxtion
Summary: Based around the mission where the Task Force 141 infiltrates the two safe houses.
Relationships: John "Soap" MacTavish/Simon "Ghost" Riley
Comments: 5
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’m really trying with their accents but please excuse me if it’s just completely wrong 😂 and please excuse typos it’s currently 2am.

“Ghost? Roach? Ghost do you copy? Does anyone copy?” 

“They’re dead, Soap”

The words hung heavy in Soaps mind as the young Scot pressed his hard hands tight against his face, pressing the palm into his eye sockets until it hurt. 

‘Dead’

Simon couldn’t be dead. The Simon he knew would’ve fought until the very end, The Simon he knew would’ve been able to see through Shepherds disguise, and shit, he did, many times before the split.

Soap remembers the little comments the younger man would whisper to him whenever Shepherd would piss him off. Comments like, “and I thought they were the good guys.” or “The man just always loves to throw us into the deep end, huh?” So there was just no way, Shepherds plan killed Simon. No fucking way.

“No.” 

He mumbled quietly into his hands, Price in his ear screaming at him to “Let it go!” And “Get up and move or we are gonna leave your bloody arse behind!” 

This is when Soap realised he was still in the middle of a battle field. 

The Captain was suppose to meet Price across the junkyard they had split up in to board a plane that Nicholi was flying. He knew he didn’t have long and his theories about his friend in Russia could wait a moment while he escaped.

After a moment of gathering himself together, mentally, he hoisted himself off the ground where he sat against a metal barrel and reloaded his weapon. “Price, how the hell am I bloody suppose to make it through this war zone.” As he spoke, his eyes scanned a large field filled with turned over cars, debris and men wearing all different uniforms. 

“Just don’t trust anyone, Soap. And for the love of Christ would you get a move on?! I’m going to find a ride and pick you up but you better be moving!” Price roared in his left ear, stress hanging from his voice and it wasn’t hard to tell that wherever Price was in the junkyard that it was hot with action. 

Taking a large breath in, Soap raised to his feet and ran. Bullets whizzing past his head and people yelled all around him. A mixture of languages from Makarovs men and Shepherds Men. Soap didn’t dare to stop running, he kept pushing himself forward until it was getting to exhausting and hot to run as the blazing sun scorched down upon him. 

Just as he was going to try and find some place to take cover so he could catch his breath, a Jeep skidded past him and the passengers seat door flung open. “Get in!” Price screamed at the younger Captain as he hastily got himself into the car. It’s engine roaring to life once Soap had shut the door. 

People started to realise who they were and quickly started to chase the Jeep as it sped down the runway towards the plane. Some ran on foot to try and get a hopeful shot at the three in the car while others jumped into a Jeep that was still running and chased them. 

Price and Soap noticed the commotion behind them as three cars filled with so many men, it left the Captains wondering how they were able to shoot without accidentally injuring another comrade standing literally an inch from them.

They took out as many as they could, Soap entirely grateful for the long hours of training he did just so he could master shooting people while standing on a moving vehicle.

Just as they were nearing the rear of the silver plane, a bullet hit the back of their driver, blood covering the steering wheel and half of the window. “Shit! The drivers down! Soap, get on that wheel!” Captain Price shouted over the sound of bullets to get to Soap who, with one hand steered the car right into the back of the plane. 

“Nicholi, we are in! I repeat, we are in!” Soap yelled into his ear piece, turning his attention back to the other jeeps as to prevent them from also boarding the flight. “I hear ya loud and clear, my friend.” Nicholi replied in his usual cheerful tone, and with that, the back of the plane shut and they took off to Task Force 141s base. 

——————————

Soap grunted as their medic worked quickly on a few scratches the man had been left with after the junkyard. Now that they were all back to the base, Soap and Price were both separated to be checked up on. This left Soap to let his mind wander, and he quickly found himself thinking of his best friend. 

The Task Force was packing to move, people were loading weapons and gear into cars and helicopters as the group were going to relocate somewhere where Shepherd wouldn’t be able find them. This also meant they had to go through the now deceased rooms to retrieve any personal items that may either be thrown out of given back to the soldiers family.

Price had offered to do Roach‘s room as he knew Soap would prefer himself to do Ghosts room as he knew the man better than anyone else here and thought that his best mate deserved the respect that Soap would give when he sorted through his belongings. 

Once Soap was all patched up and declared well enough to leave the medic tent, he rose to he feet and made his way out and towards the building they used for the bedrooms. Soap walked up the stairs to the second floor and walked along the long corridor, passing his own room in the process as he headed to Ghosts room. 

He pushed over the wooden door that was silent as ever, remembering how Ghost never liked the creaking of the wooden doors and often made sure the door was still as quiet as he’d like.

Soap surveyed the room and took in how empty it looked. He had been in Ghosts room before and knew the man didn’t have many personal belongings but walking in now made the man realise just how empty it was. 

He first started by placing his clothes into the duffel bag that ghost most frequently used when they travelled across the world to different bases. He checked in ever drawer until he was satisfied there was nothing left. The only things Ghost had as possessions were a small set of throwing knives Soap had given him after he realised it was Riley’s birthday and no one had known. It was certainly a surprise to Ghost when he was handed a present wrapped in very messy news paper with duck tape holding it together but it made him smile, making John feel proud for the next few weeks. 

There was also an old photo of Simons family that he knew had all passed away. This, Soap knew, he was going to keep. And finally a second pair of Ghosts sunglasses. He brought backups as he knew the ones he was wearing would one day break during battle. 

The three belongings that Ghost had suddenly became too overwhelming for Soap as he clutched the three items to his chest and took deep breaths to calm himself down, shaking his head slowly. “This can’t possibly be how you die, mate. You’ve been through too much and fought for too long just to have your life snatched from ya too early.” He mumbled shakily as if Ghost would be able to hear him. 

——————————

At first it was just numbing, then it started to grow in pain before the burning sensation was everywhere. Maybe it was hell? The thought wavered in his mind for a moment, it did seem logical. But at the same time this was a little too much to be hell, and something didn’t feel right. 

This time it was sharp pain, right in his jaw and lower abdomen. The burning never left but he was just growing more aware of the sharp pain as well, both of the unpleasant sensations getting angrier and angrier by the second and he knew if he didn’t move soon, it would only get worse. 

Ghost rolled over, his hand extending out as he pulled himself along the hard ground. It was now his left hands turn to reach out and drag him along the ground, each effort to move causing him to groan out in pain. 

Ghost looked back for a second and quickly realised that the burning pain was actually the lit flames on his back and legs. His eyes widened a little as he thought through his options. One, being that he could just lie here forever and let the flames take him. Or Two, being that he used what little energy he had to roll in the ground to attempt to extinguish the flames on his back. 

Deciding that the second option was tougher but probably more reasonable he moved his hands so they were palm down on the dirt beside his chest and pushed so he rolled onto his back. He kept this movement going until he was sure that there weren’t any flames left, though the burning feeling never left and he knew it was going to become excruciating soon. Taking this moment now that he was safe, Ghost decided to try and understand what he did and did not know.

First off, Ghost knew he was alive and that Shepherd was a bloody traitor. He knew his team went down trying to get the intel from Makarovs safe house in.. where? Oh right, Russia. He knew they were getting ambushed and he told Roach to grab the- Roach! The man was beside him when they were betrayed by Shepherd.

Ghost tried to move his head to the side so that he could try and see the area he had crawled, and rolled from but it just looked like a large bonfire, Shit. Ghost felt heavy bits of guilt now weighing down on him as he remembered he was the first Shepherd had shot after he found out Roach had the intel. Ghost covered his hands to his head and groaned loudly, first reason being that his good mate was now nothing but ashes but also knowing that he was stranded, probably presumed K.I.A with no way of letting his team know he was alright. Kinda. 

Ghost did remember the radio equipment set up in the safe house that, if he were lucky, may still be operating. Ghost was desperate for his team, for his captains to know he was alive but the burning pain and sharp gun wounds kept reminding him he was in no shape to move. 

But he was a fighter and he was going to get to that house. So he began to crawl. 

——————————

Soap was finished with the packing and walked down the old wooden steps to the courtyard where the group had set up a quick dinner before they headed off in search for a new base. John headed over to the pile of boxes of clothes that were being trashed and hesitated to place Ghosts down. 

After a few good seconds of thinking, he finally placed the box down on the ground and walked away from it quickly before he had any second thoughts which he knew would start to form with any second that he stayed near the boxes. 

He decided to still keep the duffle bag that also had his three items in it. And maybe a few clothes articles that John just couldn’t see being thrown away or passed on to a new recruit. He just wanted to keep some things that reminded him of his mate, even if he knew it would keep him for hours, grieving. 

Soap approached the group of soldiers sitting around on makeshift chairs, on the ground of hell, he even noticed one guy sitting on his friend as there wasn’t much areas to sit due to the packing. Captain price was standing off to the side talking to a member of the squad, Worm, whose face was a twist of anger and worry. 

Soap decided he didn’t want to eat but talking wouldn’t hurt as he trudged along, the sand kicking up behind his feet as he headed towards the two men chatting. Price was the first to notice and just gave him a welcoming nod. Worm turned his head and smiled at Soap. “Captain, it’s good to see you are alright.” He said carefully, knowing that Soap was probably not in the mood for anything that could potentially set him off. “Cheers, mate.” John said a little too lowly for his liking but Worm didn’t seem to notice too much. The fellow captain however, did notice the tone of his voice and grunted a little in response to it. 

“Uhh, I know this may be a little too soon but. What are we going to do now, I mean. We just lost some good men and we are in war with half of our team!” Worm spoke quickly, anxiety gaining with each word he spoke. Soap was trying to form a sentence to respond to that but honestly, he had no idea was was next to come. Luckily, Price noticed and replied for him.

“Don’t worry, son. We’ll work it out. We are the task force aren’t we?” Price said in a strong voice, trying to comfort or even inspire Worm so that he could stay in control of his mind. It seemed to work a little. “Yeah, I guess you are right. Well I’m going to play basketball with some of the boys before we head off. Enjo- erm.. hope you have a..“ Worm was trying to find a sentence ender that hopefully wouldn’t upset the captains. He finally settled with “I hope you two are alright.” before he jogged away.

Price was about to move away before Soaps strong grip came into his arm, stopping him in his tracks and making him turn towards him. “What is it?” Price asked, not expecting the words, “I don’t think he’s dead.” To come out of Soaps mouth but they did and it made Price twitch with anger. 

“What is the one thing I always taught you, Mactavish?” He hissed, clearly unhappy with the words Soap had spoken. But unlike others, Soap wasn’t afraid of Price when he got mad, so he stepped forward. “I know, Price, to never hold on. But I fuckin’ know Simon. And I know the guy wouldn’t stop fighting death! Never!” Price pinched the bridge of his nose tightly and took a deep breath in, speaking lower in attempts to reason with Soap, “Soap, please, you can’t hold onto this. It’s going to haunt you if you don’t let it go. Trust me I know. He’s gone Soap, and there’s nothing you can d-“ the man was quickly cut off with Soap challenging him, “But that’s the thing! What if he’s not gone, huh? What if he’s, lying out in the middle of nowhere bleeding to death but still fuckin’ fightin’ because he never quits and he’s hoping! Just hoping that we’ll save him!” Soap was now catching the attention of some men nearby who listened anxiously to the growing fight.

“Soap.” “Please, Price. Just assemble one team that, while during the move, goes over there and just searches for him. For any signs that any one of them could still be alive! They aren’t just good soldiers, they are our bloody friends who fight with us. Can’t we just give it a go? You would want the same if you were him.” Price sighed heavily at the end of Soaps rant. 

“Fine” he said at last, “Let’s assemble a team and begin Operation Ghost.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So by now you’ve realised I’ve kind of derailed and am just going off my own plot now with the timeline.

“Our plan is to have two groups. Group ‘Alpha’ is our moving team, they will go into the building and move out, surveying the area and trying to find any survivors. Group ‘Omega’ will set themselves in a perimeter around the base and watch for enemy’s coming towards the house or away from it. Soap and I will be in team Alpha and we will be bringing the sharpest with us. If we do get into a fight while in the safe house we are going to need the wittiest to help hold defences, especially if we discover any life. Are my instructions clear?” Price said.

“Yes, sir.” The rest of the Group joined in who were listening closely to every single word their Captain said. “Good, team Alpha will retreat to the south where the LZ will be located. Soap and I will pick the teams and we will be leaving in 0600 hours. Dismissed.” Once everyone was listening to Prices orders, they got up and left the briefing area to prepare themselves, leaving Soap and Price alone with an awkward silence. 

Soap was thankful beyond belief that Price decided to put the mission into action and he was even more thankful that they wouldn’t be waiting too long to leave. It gave Soap plenty of time to have a quick rest and get ready. “Thanks, Price.” Soap mumbled awkwardly, knowing how much his Captain loved getting praised by Soap who just hated praising people. “Well what did you expect after that speech you gave me? Couldn’t leave you hanging after that.” Price smiled and Soap let out a chuckle. “I’m just glad you listened.” He said, the appreciation showing in his eyes as he looked at Price. 

“Well go get some sleep then, it’s going to be a long flight.” Price finally said after a few moments. “Yeah, alright. Sleep well, old man.” Soap said before leaving the briefing tent, making his way over to bedrooms that were now flooding with soldiers on their way to bed or preparing their gear. 

Soap walked past a few and nodded at those who gave him a quick hello as he passed by. Walking up the stairs to the second floor and turning the corner to his room. Even though it was just a temporary room, he loved the feeling he got whenever he walked into it, knowing he was able to lie down and sleep after a long day. 

Soap stripped himself of his grubby boots and clothes before sliding on a new black shirt and navy pants. He let his toes stretch for a moment once he released them from the socks that kept them in place, letting them breathe for a moment before he trapped them again with some clean socks. After setting up his sleeping area with his boots ready for when he woke and his weapons loaded nearby, he quickly pressed a few buttons on his watch, making it beep until he set his alarm to wake up just before departure. 

Lying down in bed after a long day is always relaxing but Soap couldn’t quite get to that state of relaxation properly. He knew he was going to be asleep in seconds but the lingering thought of ‘what if Ghost is gone’ lingered on his mind making him anxious. Though, just as he predicted, he was able to drift off to sleep in no time.

—————————

John sat up, feeling the cool metal in his back he begun to wonder where he was. The loud whirring of a helicopter could be heard so he guessed that’s what he was on. Just at that moment he heard a jet whiz by, but the closeness of the jet to Soaps position made the helicopter he was on start losing altitude as the controls were out of the pilots hands for a moment. “Hang on.” He heard the pilot say in the earpiece he was wearing and before long he was able to take control of the helicopter again before it plummeted to the ground. 

“Jesus that was close.” The voice made him flinch and sit up quickly, staring at the young soldier sitting a few feet from him. Roach turned his head at his Captain obvious distress and gave him a questioning yet concerned look.

“..Roach?” Soap questioned as he stared at the man sitting in front of him. “No, sir, it’s Michael Jackson.” Roach joked back, always having time for some sense of humour. Soap found himself snorting a little at the comment, “Well unless that fucker can shoot a bloody gun, I don’t want him.” This made Roach laugh and Soap couldn’t help but smile. 

Though, a voice cut in to his earpiece that he recognised in an instant. The heavy Scottish accent could never slip past the Captain, “And I thought they were the good guys.” Ghost mumbles from the earpiece, referring to Shepherd who told Ghost not to worry about the jets flying to close to their positions on the copters. 

Instead of saying, “Cut the chatter, Ghost.” Like Soap did when he was on the mission to extract the prisoner, he just smiled and let out a small huff of air, “I agree with you.” He said softly, making Ghosts voice turn to confusion when he replied. “The hell happened to you, Sir? You aren’t turning all soft on us, aren't you?” he said. Even the bug who was sitting next to him on the helicopter was confused with the sudden softer mood his Captain was in. 

“Nah, of course not, but you hopefully aren’t turning into one of those class clowns like Roach here, aren’t you?” Soap said with a hint of amusement on his voice. The man honestly just wanted to keep the conversation going so he could hear his best friends voice in his ear. 

“Pfft, Captain you sound like a bloody whole new man.” Ghosts voice indicated that the man had a smile on his face. Before Soap had the chance to reply, the his surroundings began to change until he was in a room he couldn’t recognise. Puzzled and wary, Soap quickly snatched up a Swiss Army knife and flicked it open, walking around carefully. Checking his corners like he was always told to do until he finally came to the last room he hadn’t checked yet and peered inside. 

The knife came to a clatter on the floor as his eyes laid upon the contents of the room. A pile of all his friends who were now gone due to losing their lives while fighting alongside Soap now laid upon each other. Soap recognised Griggs and Gaz, who were his first mates upon joining the S.A.S. Griggs joint a little later during a joint operation but their friendship grew strong in a small amount of time. 

He recognised Roach near the top, blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth and uniform streaked with blood. But right on the top of the pile, Ghost laid still on his back. Blood staining his balaclava and glasses tilted on his head hiding his lifeless eyes underneath them. 

The sight was too much to see and Soap found himself falling to his knees as he recognised each individual person in the pile. Then, one of the body’s began to shift. Ghost pushed himself to sit up as his head hung heavily on his shoulder. Soaps breath was caught in his throat as he stared at Ghost, knowing that the others lifeless eyes were staring right into his own. 

After moments of just staring at each other, Ghost finally opened his mouth, “I told you they were the bad guys.”

——————————

The beeping of his watch caused Soap to sit up, sweat dripping from his forehead as he felt other places on his body that were also covered by the substance. “Bloody hell.” Soap mumbled quietly to himself in his almost empty room. He heard helicopters outside taking off and he presumed the move was a go. 

Soap swung his feet to the side of his bed and tied the laces to his shoes quickly, making sure they were tight and unlikely to come undone. Finding himself to the other side of the room, retrieved all of his guns and placed on his vest. 

Soap walked out of his now empty room and took one last look around before he closed the door behind him and started to walk out to the courtyard where the group was meeting up for the operation. 

To Soaps surprise, the rest of the team were already there, all listening closely to Price as he spoke to them. Captain Price looked up and saw Soap approaching as he nodded. “Alright, Operation Ghost is now a go, everyone. Load up into the helis and we’ll get going.” Price commanded, receiving a choir of “Yes, Sir” in reply. 

“Price.” Soap greeting the older man who nodded back at him, “Is everyone prepared?” He asked the other Captain. “As ready as the Task Force 141 can be.” Price responded, a confident smirk displayed on his face. “Well then, what are we waiting for.” Soap smirked back before both of the Captains were loading the helicopters. 

The flight was a long one and many of the other members of the force were lying back to relax or chatting quietly. Soap couldn’t find himself to talk to anyone or even just join in to listen. His mind was focussed on the dream he had last night and the thought of ‘What if Ghost was actually gone.’ Soap tried his hardest to continue to keep his mind distracted so he didn’t upset himself any further by thinking of what he would do if there was an enemy team waiting there. 

“Be advised, we will be entering the enemy zone in approximately 30 seconds.” He heard the pilot say and he decided to pick up his M249, pointing it towards the ground below them as he peered into his scope, prepared to fire at any individual he saw. 

——————————

Ghost spend all night hauling himself towards the safe house. He had managed to stand up and stumble around using the help of anything that he could use but the excruciating pain around his body wasn’t helping his mobility much. 

Ghost had plopped himself down next to the radio coms, groaning loudly in pain that surrounded him. Ghost forced himself to his arms and tried to pushed to try and stand up but he fell back down onto his face. “Fuck!” He yelled out when he made contact with the wooden flooring. 

Ghost raised his arm as he grabbed the microphone and radio, throwing it to the ground so he would have better access then trying to stand. Ghost pressed on the button to turn the device on but when nothing changed he began to grow panicked. He just crawled himself all the way to the house for the fucking thing to not work! In a fit of rage he threw the device as hard as his body could manage and watched as it smashed against a wall, pieces crumbling to the floor.

He realised then that the reason it didn’t turn on was when he pulled it to the door, it wasn’t plugged in to the computer that held all the power. 

“You are fuckin’ kidding me” he yelled loudly and covered his face with his hands. Anger that he felt in his body was now being replaced with fear and sadness. He didn’t know how much longer he had left until his body gave up on him and the thought that none of his army family knew he was alright meant that he was left stranded, no one knowing the truth.

Just in that moment he heard helicopters above his location and he realised that where he was, was still Makarovs safe house. “Shit, Shit.” He cursed as he got up, using all his energy to stand up. 

Ghost ran, more like stumbled, across the room into the kitchen, hands on the cool marble of the counter as he took deep breaths. Ghost was growing tired with every step he took but he had to hurry, he wasn’t about to let some Russian morons get their hands on him. Ghost ran through his option of rooms to hide him and remembered the tiny storage closet in the basement that was dark and could hide a heavily injured ghost until the troops decided to leave.

As he approached the staircase that led into the basement, he hesitates with placing his foot on the first step. He immediately regret it when he finally got enough courage to take the first step as it was followed by Ghost plummeting down the stairs to the floor that held no comfort when he finally made it to the bottom.

Ghost felt like he was paralysed, he couldn’t quite get enough strength to keep moving and he thought he could just suck it up and let the Russians take him. As he laid there and thought about the option a thought went into his mind.

He thought of his captain, Captain Mactavish. Others called him Soap but only Ghost sometimes called him John. The two had a close relationship and he wondered what was going through the older mans head at the moment. If there was any chance of Ghost seeing Soap again, he wanted to take whatever he could.

Ghost was seeing red with the amount of pain now in his body, he was sure he broke a few bones and the throbbing in his head indicated that he had hit it pretty hard. But Ghost still had the fight in him and like he did back at the field he started to drag himself towards the storage closet a few meters from his position. He tried to keep his voice down as best as he could while he let out grunts of pain. 

Finally he made it to the door and pulled himself into the room, looking for some sort of item he could use as cover. Pushing around some boxes he tried to shift himself behind them so he couldn’t be seen, finally succeeding after a few hoists. 

He moved the boxes back into place and laid down, knowing that the moments that were soon to come could last for hours or days. But he was going to sit and wait while trying desperately to keep his own heart beating.

——————————

The groups were quickly finding each other and getting into location. Group Omega were quickly moving around the safe house to set up a perimeter where no one would get in or out. Team Alpha however which consisted of the captains, Worm, Neon and Boyd, were moving forward towards the safe house.

Soap was leading the group up the concrete driveway towards the building at the top of the hill. The team we’re going to search around the house and then file in, Soap making sure the team checked every room. 

They were approaching the house and Neon let out a yell. “Enemy contact on the first floor!” And in a flash, Gunfire started spraying all over the place. The members of Group Alpha immediately took cover behind stone barriers and come vehicles before they let their own rain of bullets begin.

“Soap, RPG on the rooftop! Take him out!” Price yelled over the commotion. Soap changed his line of firing to the top of the building and fired right at the RPGer, exploding the weapon he was holding and blowing him up in the process. “Got him.” Soap replied. 

The fight was beginning to die down and as soon as there was an open window, Soap yelled out. “Move up! Everyone move up!” The team filed into the house, taking out people when they saw them. Soap made everyone spread out as he took the basement, Worm keeping an eye at the top of the staircase. 

Soap stepped over the bloody prints that led down the stairs as he followed the trail leading towards a door. Soap swallowed thickly, remembering his dream when he looked into a room and saw all of his friends dead and silently hoped that whatever or whoever was in there, that it wasn’t what he was expecting. 

He reached his hand to the door handle and twisted it before he was jumped on by someone behind him. He heard Russian yelling in his ear as a sharp pain entered his shoulder where a knife entered the skin.

Soap grabbed the arm on his shoulder and pulled it over his head, slamming the Russian soldiers body to the ground. He jumped on top of the man and started to punch across his face. The Russian was quick to act, kicking his leg up to make contact with the Captains crotch. 

A loud groan of pain escaped Soaps lips as he rolled over to his side, holding onto his crotch as the throbbing pain. The Russian soldier got up from his feet, saying something slowly that Soap couldn’t Identify and then pointed his gun to Soaps head.

Just as Soap tightly shut his eyes, he heard loud bang of the gun as he expected but what he didn’t expect was that he felt no pain. He still felt the pain from his crotch and the pain in his shoulder but he was unable to feel the pain from the gun. 

He realised then that he wasn’t the one that got shot. Soap opened his eyes and glanced at the Russian who was now slumped to the ground. Tracing back from where the bullet must have come from, he saw the door that he was previously going to enter now wide open. His eyes now laid upon the form who killed the soldier above him.

“Ghost?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s currently 4am the night after I posted chapter 2 and my drafts weren’t working for a while so I had done two full attempts of the chapter and it deleted itself. Ill be doing chapter 3 as soon as I calm down and get some rest.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Deep ass breath* Take 3.

In seconds, Ghost had crossed the room and brought his Lieutenant into his arms tightly. The fears that previously haunted his mind now vanishing as he embraced the shorter man. “Soap.. John.” Ghost mumbled, voice strained as he continued to force himself to keep from yelling out in pain everytime he moved a muscle in his body. Johns pain seemed to numb for a moment as the only thought that was now in his mind was the relief of seeing his friend. “I’ve got you, Mate. I’ve got you.” Soap whispered back as he comforted the other who was clutching onto Soaps vest and shirt. Ghost was still in shock. He was shocked that he had managed to make it so long without any medical attention and at the fact that his friends, his family, had come and rescued him. Soap tried to rub his hand on Ghosts back to calm the other man but he froze when Ghost let out a pained hiss, the burns across his skin red angry and very tender. “Shit Ghost. You’ve lost so much blood. We need to get you to a bloody medic now.” Soap checked over Ghosts body and became more and more angry and worried with every new mark or burn he found. His mind flogged with worry again but Prices voice in his ear made him snap back into reality again, “Soap! Soap! Get your bloody ass up here if you can’t find anything! Enemy troops are heading in fast!” Soaps head darted around quickly as he tried to figure out what his next move was. “Price, Ghost is alive.” Was all his said. Price was upstairs in the living room behind a crate of wood that was flipped on it’s side when he heard the news through the earpiece on his left ear. The old mans eyes widened before he dashed across the room, through the kitchen and down the stairs to the basement where he discovered an injured Soap holding an even more injured Ghost. Price locked eyes with Soap as he pressed a button on the earpiece. “Eagle one, This is Captain Price, the package has been discovered and we request an immediate extraction.” Price and Soap seemed to have formed a plan between the two without speaking as Soap reached for his sidearm. “Captain Price, this is Eagle One. We will be in your location in approximately 2 minutes. Medics and back up are on board, Over.” Over their heads, gunfire started to rain as the fighting began. “Ghost, can you still fight, Mate?” Soap asked as he held out the sidearm. Ghost nodded and took the loaded weapon from his captains hand. Soap picked up Ghost with the man now on his back, arm over Soaps shoulder and holding onto the shirt tightly. They followed Captain Price up the stairs but Soap was only beginning to realise how difficult it was going to be carrying Ghost as his wounds were screaming at him. But he was determined to get the lieutenant out of that damned place. Once they were up the stairs Soap stood to the side of the doorway that led into the living room and waited, he was listening to the sounds of the gunshots to find an opening. “Okay Ghost. I’m going to run on my mark. Be ready.. Okay.. And.. Go!” Soap broke out into a sprint through the living room and out of the front of the house, sprinting down the concrete floor toward a car, ducking behind it quickly. Ghost on the other hand was still making some great shots even in his dizzy, low blood trance and the bouncing of his arm as Soap ran but he was quick to reload the weapon when they stopped behind the car. Soap turned his head at the direction he needed to go in as he waited for another opening. The pattern of the ground went something like slope, flat ground, slope and then finally flat ground. But the flat grounds stretched out for meters and Soap was entirely glad that he had made the location of the LZ just after the first slope. “Let’s go.” Soap said again just so Ghost knew and was prepared before Soap got to his feet and ran again. His teammates behind him covering him and Ghost as best as they could but the ones they couldn’t shoot, they warned Soap about. Words like “Soap! That RPGer over there!” And “Soap! There’s a guy on your left!” Each time he was warned about a danger nearby he repeated the command out-loud so Ghost could act on it. Soap managed to get to the bottom of the hill but his legs were giving out and he started to slow down. “Shit.” He grumbled as he tried to find a safe spot to take cover in. He settled for a bush next to a tree and darted for it, finally relaxing his legs and dropping down when they were safely behind it and hidden by the shrubbery from enemies. Ghost laid down on the floor and his eyes were shut tightly, all the pain coming for him at once. “Simon! You’ve started bleeding again! Shit!” Soap reached his hand down to press against the open gun wound. “Eagle One, Come in, whats your status over?” He asked quickly. “This is Eagle one, we are 30 seconds away.” This time Soap heard Prices voice speaking to the helicopters suppose to be picking them up. “Eagle one, the LZ is too hot, relocating down the second slope.” The old man stated. Soaps stomach dropped as he thought about running down the second slope. “Price, do NOT relocate the LZ. I can’t run any more.” Ghost couldn’t hear any of the others voices as his earpiece broke the previous day so he gave Soap a confusing look when Mactavish declined the relocation. Soap noticed his confused look and nodded his head in the direction of the second slope. “No. I’m not going down there.” Ghost said suddenly as he stared at where Soap had indicated. “Why, Ghost?” Soap questioned Ghost carefully. “Roach is down there. I don’t want to see him and I don’t think the rest of the team would want to either.” Ghost coughed halfway through his sentence but Soap nodded understandingly. “Team Alpha come in, this is Eagle One, whats the confirmed decision on relocating the LZ?” Soap heard Price begin to talk so he shouted over him. “No! We are not relocating.” He heard Price grunt in frustration. “Soap, I don’t think you’ve fucking realised but there are about 200 soldiers on us. There’s only six of us including Ghost.” Price yelled through the earpiece. “Captain Price, this is team Omega, we’ve come to help.” Soap breathed out in relief as he saw the rest of the team arrive from the south.

Soap started to hear the helicopters that were coming down at their LZ not too far away from his position was Ghost behind the tree, but Soaps eyes glanced over towards the second slope as he frowned. 

“Hey Ghost. I’ll be back.” Ghost glanced up at Soap when the other got to his feet. “Soap! Don’t do anything reckless you are injured!” Ghost grumbled, worried for his taller friend. “No, I’ll be fine. The troops are starting to fall back anyways.” Soap said softly before he started walking away with Ghosts eyes burning into his back.

Soap walked all the way down the second slope, noticing all the things that were out of place once he arrived. There were indications of heavy weapons being dropped around the place and weapons that were left behind hidden in the overgrown grass. However, Soaps eyes were drawn towards the patch of land where the grass was burnt out. 

He tiredly stepped over to the burnt out area and crouched down to examine the land closer. And suddenly, as if a lightbulb was turned on, Soap understood.

He understood how General Shepherd betrayed his own friends and murdered one of them on the very land he was standing on. “Jesus fucking Christ.” Soap muttered as he placed a hand over his head. “I’m sorry mate. I wish I was there. I wish we could’ve warn you earlier. You were a good friend and a good soldier. I’m gonna miss you, Bug.” 

He stared a moment longer at the floor, guilt and grief like a grey cloud over his head that swarmed his head with bad thoughts. Thoughts like, what if Ghost never made it and ended up the exact same way? What if he never ever found out? Or didn’t try to find Ghost and left him here to die? He tried to ignore his mind but the thoughts were too overwhelming.

Just as his mind was getting too crowded with thoughts, a cool hand came to rest on his head, ruffling up his Mohawk. “There was nothing we could do, Soap. You know that. Don’t beat yourself up.” He heard Price say, he hadn’t heard the mans voice this soft since Gaz. “Think about Ghost. You saved the poor mans ass here today. Without you and your insane fucking plan to search a safe house Ghost would probably be dead.” Prices hand left his head but he stayed standing behind Soap.

“Is he alright?” Soap asked. “Yeah, Ghost got sent off straight away with some Medics, we’ll see him when we get back.” Price answered. “Well let’s not keep the rest waiting any longer.” Soap said as he got to his feet with a little help from Price. After one last look at the spot where Roach died, he followed his Captain up the hill to the helicopters.

——————————

Ghost woke up in an all white bed. The room he was in was not recognisable and immediately he heard his heartbeat on the monitor pick up a few beats as he questioned where he was. He sat up and stared at the pristine white walls and white tile floor.

“Ghost.” His head snapped towards the direction of the voice, face unable to contain a smile when he saw Soap standing there. “You’re finally awake.” Soap said as he stepped forward. 

“Yeah. How long was I gone for?” Ghost questioned as he looked down towards his bandaged stomach and chest. “A few hours. But don’t worry it gave our guest plenty of time to arrive to see you.” Soap said with a cheerful grin. Ghost quickly noticed that the action was very unlike the friend he got to know over the years. “Guest?” Ghost was cautious now, sitting up more properly.

“Yeah. I’ll let him in.” Soap stepped to the side and Ghosts face paled as Shepherd stepped through the door, a mischievous smile on his lips. “S-Soap! Get him out!” Ghost yelled as he got to his feet away from the man, backing up. Without a gun or a knife he was way too vulnerable to this man. “Why, Ghost? Shepherds done nothing but protect us.” Soap still had the plastic smile in his face as he spoke. 

“No! He never protected us!” Ghost yelled, anger and fear crossing his face. “Simon, what’s with these words and actions? You Must have lost a lot of blood. Too bad. You were such a good soldier but if you’re acting this crazy I can’t possibly have any use for you anymore. And you don’t have a family, what a shame, so I guess I’ll just have to put you out of your misery.” Shepherd raised his arm, the action causing Ghost to have déjà vu of the day in the field. Ghosts heart was pounding in his chest but the moment he heard the gun fire, he jolted awake.

He was dreaming. 

Ghost raised his arm to shield his eyes from the now blazing light that made his head throb but the intense pain that shot through his flesh as soon as he moved his arm made him freeze up on the spot. Sweat was pooling under his back and under his mask, most likely caused from the unpleasant dream but he was unable to move due to his raw and tender skin and the fact that no one has seen his face.

He turned his head to glance around the room that he woke up in, the walls unfamiliar like they were in his dream but more rundown compared to the pristine ones in his mind. He went to jump again and begin to panic but a hand caught his arm. 

“Calm down, it’ll hurt if you more.” Ghost turned his head towards the source of the voice and sighed when he saw Soap. The mans face was stern and the bags under his eyes indicated he hadn’t slept at all. 

“Soap.” Ghost said quietly as he stared at the man sitting beside his bed. “That’s me.” Soap sighed after he spoke, sitting back against the chair and letting his head roll back. “How long have you been there? In that chair I mean?” Ghost could see the white bandage under Soaps shirt so he was relieved the man had seen medical attention but Soap hadn’t changed from the clothes he wore the previous day. “Ever since I got back to the base. The new base I mean.” Soap said tiredly.

“New base?” That cleared up why the room was unfamiliar to Ghost. “Well we can’t just let Shepherd march in whenever he pleased now could we?” Soap spoke in a moody voice, a trait the older man received when he got tired. 

“Soap go to bed.” Ghost grunted when Soap only shook his head. “Stop being an arse and just go to sleep. I’m not bloody going anywhere.” Ghost grumbled to the half asleep man on the chair beside him but finally Soap gave in to the exhaustion and rose to his feet. “I’ll be back here first thing.” Soap said seriously. “I don’t doubt it.” Ghost mumbled but when Soap began to walk away to leave the room, he spoke up. “Soap?”

Soap paused in his tracks and turned his head slightly to the side. “What is it?” 

“Thanks for saving me, mate.” The words were kinder and softer compared to what Soap was used to hearing from Ghost. 

“..You’re welcome, Simon. I’m glad your back. Now get some rest so you can get yourself and your killer aim back with the rest of us.”

“Yes, Sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter isn’t exactly up to my own expectations but I got so sick and angry of repeating it I just gave up lmao. Hope you still found it enjoyable. ♡


	4. Chapter 4

A day after the team had recovered Ghost from the safe house in Russia, they were already planning what to do next. Like usual, Captain Price took initiative to control the plan, deciding the best way to approach the situation. 

“Well, We have information about Shepherds safe house in Afghanistan” Captain Price began as he blew the cigarette smoke from his mouth. “But as much as most of you here would like your own sort of payback towards General Shepherd, this is a mission specifically for Soap and I.”

Soap crosses his arms as he listened to the older man speak. “Now Soap. We need to be aware that if we stir up too much commotion before we even get into the base, Shepherd has more time to escape. We need to be as quiet as possible for as long as possible. Equipment wise we’ll need need suppressed weapons, rope and a shit ton of ammo.” This made Soap chuckle a little as he nodded, “What are we waiting on then? Let’s get moving. Nikolai, prepare your chopper.” Nikolai nodded to the Captain as him and the rest of the men left the room.

Price seemed to read Soaps mind as he pulled the cigarette from his mouth, “Go on, go talk to him, if we don’t make it back at least you said goodbye.” Soap nodded in a thanks before he rose to his feet and made his way out of the briefing room and towards the Medic block. 

Upon arriving, no Medics questioned his presence, already knowing where he was headed. Soap pushed open the door and focused on the figure sitting up in the bed. He stepped a little closer towards Ghost who turned his head at the sound of a visitor. “Hey, mate.” Ghost seemed relieved it was Soap and not another Medic checking up on him. “Hey, Soap.” 

“Price and I are headed off to Afghanistan shortly. I just thought you would’ve wanted to know.” Soap shrugged and sat down on the chair beside Ghosts bed. “Ah, Is that where Shepherd is?” Soap nodded.

“Gotcha. So I never actually asked but, where the bloody hell are we right now?” Ghost questioned, “None of the Medics want to talk, they are like fucking robots.” Soap chuckled, “Well you probably scare the shit out of them, Mate. But we are someplace temporary. The teams relocating. But the medics here don’t speak English.” Ghost nodded, putting the points together, “So, it’s not that the Medics are scared of me, it’s just that they can’t understand a single fucking word I say.” Soap scoffed, “It’s probably both.” This time, Ghost chuckled back at Soap. 

“Anyways, I just came to say goodbye. Because, well, we are diving right into the base of our enemy.” Soap got out of the chair before he got too comfortable and crossed his arms. “You’ll be back. And if you don’t it’ll be my turn to chase after you.” Ghost replied with a frown, not wanting to think too deeply into the odds of Soap and Price return. “I’ll be counting on it.” Soap smiled. “Goodbye then, Mate.” He started walking backwards. “Goodbye, Ghost.” Finally, he turned and strode out of the room. 

——————————

“Quick! He’s getting away! Soap! Get in the boat!” Price commanded as he entered the little motor powered boat. Soap jumped in just behind him and the engine roared to life. The wet rubbery feeling of the boat gave little to no comfort to Soap as he drove the boat from the docking bay, gaining speed with each passing second. 

Soaps eyes were locked on the boat ahead of his one and kept their path steady, allowing his Captain to shoot at the men who stood on the side of the river banks with RPG’s. 

“Fuck! Soap! Enemy boats inbound, Shoot the fuckers!” It was a lot of multitasking, shooting and keeping the boat steady and in line with Shepherds one but with years and years of being out in Wat Soap learnt how to master that skill. 

Boats flew past them and bullets sprayed the water around them as Soap swerved the oncoming rain of ammunition. “Hold on, Price. We are coming up to rapid water.” Soap warned as his own hand gripped tighter around the handle of the motor. 

All other boats that where previously closing in on them were now empty and probably sinking to the bottom of the lake right at that point in time, Soap was able to focus of gaining speed to the target boat. 

That’s when the helicopter lowered down and Shepherd slid right inside the back of it. Soap cursed but Price had his mind set on victory and wasn’t about to give up. “Steady the boat, Soap. Keep it steady.” He said calmly as he aimed his rifle, finger on the trigger as he squeezed. The helicopter went spiralling down and Price let go of his breath. Now with no problems in their mind they relaxed for a moment, until they saw the drop. 

“Fuck! Back up! Back up!” Price yelled as Soap tried reversing the boat, realising it was too late as the current was forcing them over the edge. “It’s no use! Hold on!” Soap yelled back as both of the men grabbed the thin handles on the inside of the boat as they were tipped over the edge. 

Soap felt the wind pushing against his face as he fell for what seemed like ages to the body of water underneath him. He braced himself as he broke the waters surface roughly and immediately felt himself black out. 

Soap awoke on rough dry ground. As he coughed he was able to feel how raw his throat felt and how exhausted the rest of his body was. But although he had just fallen from a tremendous high, his mind was racing a hundred miles an hour. Thoughts that he couldn’t seem to answer at that point were overwhelming his mind as he tried to push past them and figure out what he was going to do next. 

His body made up his mind for him as he pushed his heavy body off the cracked desert floor using his very tired arms and stood unstably on his very tired legs. 

The only weapon he had on him was his knife that he kept on a holster against his calf and he was extremely thankful it hadn’t fallen off in the crash. 

Soap could hear thundering noises in his ear and soon recognised them as his own heartbeat. Every few steps he took he stumbled a little, having to steady himself again each time to avoid falling over and possibly not getting up again. He continued his little journey for a few meters until he noticed a deeper orange amongst the yellow hue of the sand. As he got closer he uncovered the wreckage of the helicopter Shepherd had been on. 

Soap walked closer to the mess as he took in the sight, flames covered the destroyed metal and rubble scattered around the wreckage. He then noticed something or perhaps someone moving amongst the litter and found who looked to be the pilot for the aircraft. He had a metal bar skewered through his hip and blood pooling around him, but he desperately tried to shoot Soap with a gun that had no ammo left. 

Soap walked closer to the man, hearing his grunts of pain and fear filled expression. Soap put the man out of his misery in one quick movement, deciding it would be better than waiting to bleed out. 

Standing back up, Soap thought about the odds of that pilot surviving the crash and wondering if anyone else were fortunate enough to have survived it as well. A noise coming from the other side of the aircraft confirming his thoughts as he stepped closer to the figure. 

Despite being on the brink of blacking out, when Soap saw Shepherd stumbling away from the mess he forced himself to step forward. And again, and again, until Shepherd had noticed the man behind him and started stumbling off into the dust around them. 

Soap continued though, stepping forward, forcing his eyes to stay open and keeping his mind set on the objective he had given himself to murder the son of a bitch who escaped death.

Soap came up to an abandoned car, Shepherd leaning on the side with a defeated look. Soap took advantage to step closer to the other man, attempting to attack him. His arm raised but before he could bring it down onto his enemy his arm was grabbed, twisted back and his face thrown into the hard metal of the car.

He fell back onto the ground and Soap looked up at his enemy with eyes only filled with hatred. Next thing he knew, Shepherds arm came flying down and a knife thrusted into the centre of his chest. 

“Five years ago, I lost 30,000 men in a blink of an eye.” Shepherd began, voice cold and emotionless. “And the world just fuckin’ watched. Tomorrow, there will be no shortage of volunteers. No shortage of patriots.” Soap stared at Shepherd as he loaded his revolver, cocking the weapon before pointing it towards the man below him, “I know you understand.” 

Captain Price threw himself onto the standing man, tackling him to the ground and making him shoot somewhere off in the distance. Price kicked the revolver from his hand before it spiralled to the ground a few meters away from Soap. Listening to the two men fight beside him, Soap forced himself to move. One arm at a time he dragged his injured body weakly across the ground towards the weapon. But just as he was a meter away from it, Price was thrown to the ground, giving Shepherd the time to kick it away from Soaps reach. Soap looked up towards Shepherd only to receive a boot to the face in return. 

Fading in and out of unconsciousness, all Soap could do was watch the two men fight. Firsts against faces and knees against chests until Shepherd had Price pinned underneath him, lashing out on the older mans face. 

Soap was tired, extremely tired as he wanted to just sleep. But Price was being beaten to bloody death and he was greatly mistaken if anyone thought he was going to give up without a fight. That’s when he noticed the knife still wedged into his chest. 

He wrapped his fingers around the base of the knife, nerves jumping to life at the touch of the weapon. He started pulling, ignoring the excruciating pain that shot through his body. He Thought about giving up, just letting the sleep overtake him so the pain would end but a thought kept returning to his mind making him pull harder. If Soap gave up now, he would never be able to see Ghosts eye colour. It was silly, forcing himself through the worlds worst pain to see a comrades eyes but it had been a mystery to everyone. Soap had asked a few times but Ghost never opened up. Though it was only a small feature it had been a thing that Soap had been thinking about way longer than he should’ve been. But if there was even the slightest chance Soap could go home alive to see those eyes, he would take it in an instant. 

With Ghosts face in his mind, he raised his second hand up to grip the handle of the knife. He was seeing red as he grunted loudly and pulled with the little energy left in his body. Finally, the weapon sprung free from his chest.

Soap shifted it around in his hand so he was holding onto the blade as he turned his head back towards the men. “For Ghost.” Soap said, getting Shepherds attention as he threw the knife. 

Shepherd plummeted to the ground as the sharp blade forced its way through his eye and into his skull, killing the man instantly. Soap let out a pained sigh, staring at Captain Price who was laying motionlessly meters from Soap. 

Soap felt his eyes closing slowly, and finally, he let himself give in to the tiredness feeling, drifting off. 

A cough caught Soaps attention as his eyes opened again, staring at his Captain who was now forcing his way to sit up. 

Price sat there, eyes wide as he stared at Shepherd in front of him before eyes darting around to look at Soaps beaten figure on the ground. “Soap.” He grumbled as he got to his knees, stumbling towards the younger Captain. “Soap!” Price yelled louder as he kneeled beside the man. 

He got quickly to work starting to patch up the wound as best as he could, head turning at the whirring noise of a chopper. Price raised his arm over his head, eyes squinting as he identified the pilot. Relief filling his body when he saw the young man running towards them.

Price pulled Soap up from the ground, “It’ll hold for now, get up.” He said as he pulled Soaps arm over his shoulder. 

Price looked up at the pilot approaching them. “I thought I told you this was a one way trip.” Price told Nikolai as he got closer. “Looks like it still is. They’ll be looking for us you know.” Nikolai grinned as he supported Soaps other arm over his shoulder. 

“Nikolai. We got to get Soap out of here.” 

“Da- I know a place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took a while to come out. <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ghost deals with a bit of PTSD.

Task Force 141 was disavowed. The remaining soldiers who worked below Captain Price and Captain Mactavish were relocated onto other Forces. Price was given the opportunity to Captain other teams but quickly denied any invitations, remaining in his little unsupported team which consisted of himself, Soap and Ghost. 

Nikolai had spoken to Ghost before the previous mission about his safe house in India and if Price and Soap had made it back alive, thats where they would be going. Ghost quickly agreed to join them, not wanting to leave the two older men’s sides after everything that had happened in Russia.

It had been a few months after the Mission and Ghost was almost completely healed. He had a few nasty scars left by the flames but at least now he could move and complete everyday tasks without yelling in pain. Lucky for Soap, Nikolai was able to make it to India with no complications of any sorts and the Medic was able to properly patch up his chest with luckily only few stitches. Though if he were to strain it which turned out to be a common thing he did, it would hurt like a bitch for hours. 

Between frequent trips to the medic for Soap and Ghost and both of them trying to get some rest to heal, the men already had their minds set on their next plan of action. Price was certain for one thing, that being that Makarov was going down one way or another. 

Of course, the three of them were overly powerful and skilled, but In order to take down their final threat, they still needed the help of a fourth member. Nikolai was out of the picture as they would need him at the base and on computers for hacking, incoming intel and occasionally pickups. That’s when Yuri came in.

Yuri was quick to fit in with the group. The man being almost the same age as Soap and the two ended up being somewhat similar which enabled a quick companionship to blossom. Yuri was highly skilled in hand to hand combat which helped both Soap and Ghost train their healing bodies back up to the fitness they previously were at before being injured. 

Nikolais safe house turned out to be a great hideout for the time being while they worked to locate any signs of Makarov or any attacks he may plan. Turned out, Nikolai had an army himself and had many men working alongside him. This meant that if they were ever caught up in a heated attack, at least they had Nikolais men backing them up. 

When the team weren’t busy locating the enemy or training, they were keeping each other company and telling jokes to light up the mood. 

“In the middle of a battlefield! They were getting down and dirty, it was nasty.” Yuri chuckled as he told the story, Price and Soap laughing with their heads thrown back. The three men where sitting on cushioned crates in a room that they used specifically to wind down and relax for a while. “To be fair, the man was probably just desperate. You don’t get enough of that action in the war and when you see an opportunity you take it.” Price said which earned a grin from Soap. “You sound like you know what you’re talking about there, mate.” He nudged the older man sitting beside him but Price just shook his head in response.

“Ghost! My friend! Come join us!” Yuri said in his cheerful and thick Russian accent. Ghost who just appeared in the doorway looked at the three sitting on crates and sighed, walking over in defeat and crossing his arms. “Alright. Sounds better than waiting around for something to happen. What’s the chit chat about this time?” 

Yuri seemed pleased at another guest to listen to his story. “It’s about two men dicking it down in the middle of war zone.” Price spoke shamelessly. 

“Bollocks, you guys are all five years old.” Ghost shook his head but Yuri laughed, being the most childish out of the lot as he spoke, “It’s true though! I saw it with my very own two eyes!” Ghost pulled up a crate and sat down on it. “I believe you. So they couldn’t hold it until the bedroom, huh?” 

“Well it was a stealth mission that I was on. Me and my Captain where trying to be sneaky and rented through the back. We didn’t expect to find what we saw though.” Ghost reached his arm towards the table as he listened, plucking a cigarette from the box. “Just desperate then.” He said before lighting the stick and plopping it in his mouth. Price chuckled at the words, “That’s what I said.” He replied. 

Ghost allowed his gaze to wander for a moment, eyes stopping at the man across from him as he noticed Soap was already staring back at him with his lips curled up into a genuinely happy smile. 

Before Simon could think about the look he was receiving his thoughts were abruptly cut off by a voice. 

“Men. We have some new information.” Nikolai said as he entered the room, holding a file in his hand. Price got to his feet instantly and received the folder, flicking through the pages. “Alright. Good work, Nikolai, we’ll act on this immediately.”

“Talk to us, Price, what’s on it?” Soap asked and when Ghost looked over he realised the gleeful expression that the other was showing earlier was completely gone as a serious look was now plastered on his face. 

“In Africa, We’ve picked up that Makarovs been using the military there to move his shipments.” The Captain spoke, his eyes glued to the paper in his hands. “We aren’t sure what the Cargo is but if we get our hands on it then it’s one step closer to Makarov.” 

“Then where do we start?” Yuri asked as he got up from his crate, extinguishing the cigarette he was holding against the table. Price paused for a brief second as he contemplated their chances with different approaches. “We can use the river to get in close and infiltrate the warehouse.” He finally said, “Once we get our hands on the cargo we can then figure out our next move.” 

“Then when do we leave?” Soap up from his chair, Ghost mirroring his actions. Price replying with, “Sunrise. So go get some sleep soldiers.” 

After that the group split up. Price followed Nikolai back to his office to get some more information about the area they were going into. Yuri headed towards the showers block, the hygiene freak obsessed with having one every day if he had the chance. Otherwise he would try to find some other way of washing himself wether that be in a river or even using a water canister. 

Ghost and Soap headed off to the sleeping quarters. The two shared some small talk between them but were quite comfortable with the silence as they walked. Soap knew Ghost wasn’t much of a conversation type guy. In Soaps opinion he found the younger to be quite mysterious and quiet. But Ghost did have his moments when he opened up and talked with the rest of the group. And Soap would cherish those moments. 

As they rounded the corner to where they would settle down for the night. Ghost paused with his walking, Soap catching on to the others movements and turned to face him. 

“You alright there, mate?” Soap asked, his arms moving to fold against his chest. “Just got something on my mind is all.” Ghost replied. Soap smiled warmly, a smile which he did commonly but he had zero idea on the effect it had on his fellow teammate. Soap said, “Well you’ve got nothing to feel ashamed about here. I’m all open to your opinions.” 

Ghost felt thankful for the openness of his friend. “Just thinking. The look you had earlier. You were looking at me when we listening to Yuri. It’s just a look I’d never seen before, is all.” 

Soap was slightly caught off guard about the topic. He had been staring at Ghost earlier but he hadn’t actually it figure out until Nikolai as walked in. Then he had quickly made sure his face was focused and serious, showing no signs of the emotion he had let slip out. Soap tried to think of what to say as Ghost was just watching him before he finally shrugged, “Erm. Well I guess I was just pleased you were joining us. You hadn’t been doing it a lot recently and I was just grateful.” Soap was pleased when Ghost nodded, seeming to believe the excuse given to him. 

Soap wasn’t quite ready to tell Ghost that his mind at the time was flooded with thoughts of what his Lieutenant looked like under the mask. Mind debating which eye colour and hair colour he thought suited the shorter man. 

“Hm. I guess I had been pretty quiet. All this just happened to fast I guess it just took a while to figure out.” Ghost said as his hands rested against his hips. “Well, I’m bummed. Night” 

“Night, Ghost.”

Ghost turned and opened the door to his shared room. The room was quite plain. The walls were bare and held no room for storage. The grey bunk bed was pushed into the opposite corner to the door and a simple wooden desk sat beside the door. Two bags belonging to Ghost and Yuri were both sitting besides each other nearby the foot of the bed, Yuris bag open with his clothes scattered everywhere while Ghosts was closed and neatly all packed together. 

Ghost stepped towards the bed and kicked off his boots, he hung his jacket on the chair that was tucked under the desk before he walked over to the beds. Ghost climbed the ladder onto the top bunk where his claimed bed was before he slipped into the sheets. 

Ghost found it particularly uncomfortable to sleep with his balaclava on but as long as he slept in a room occupied by another person, he would constantly feel paranoid that he was letting his identity out. Luckily, he was comfortable enough to remove his sunglasses before he slept. But he always kept them close by. 

Ghost found the moment his head hit the pillow, he was out cold. 

His dream had started off peaceful and filled with memories, sitting at home with his Nephew comfortably on his lap as they opened Christmas gifts. It had just seemed like a family Christmas with snacks, music and laughter until the knock at the door came. 

No one was thinking anything of it, his family continued to laugh and chatter. His nephews eyes were wide with delight as he finished unwrapping his new toy car. 

It was the moment the door opened and General Shepherd took a step into the house was the moment they had realised everything was about to go wrong. 

Blood pained the walls and the rug, the innocent music that played in the background now sounding sinister. But the thing that Ghost could see vividly was his Nephews eyes. The light that once filled the orbs drained and emptiness was now replaced in them. 

Ghost was quick to sit up in his bed, his eyes wide with horror about the dream that he had just had. He stared at the wall across from him while he waited for his thoughts to come together. 

He realised that he could hear heavily snoring and immediately identified the source as Yuri. 

Ghosts mind was still running and the rooms walls suddenly felt too small and too enclosing for his likings. He wanted to get out so badly so as quickly as he could he placed his sunglasses over his eyes and swung his legs towards the ladder. 

Due to how quickly It took Ghost to start moving from when he woke up, he found himself still half asleep or in other words, quite drowsy. As he tried to quietly slip down the ladder he found himself missing a bar and falling towards the ground. 

The loud clatter was more than enough to wake Yuri as the Russian man sat up startled, eyes wide with alert and searching for the threat. 

The man was able to calm down when he realised the situation but concern started to take the fears place in his mind. He knew Ghost wasn’t a clumsy person, so the fact that the man had fallen from a little bunk bed meant that something was up. “Ghost?” Yuri had started but the masked Lieutenant shook his head to silence him. Responding with, “I slipped. It’s fine. Go back to sleep.” 

Ghost got to his feet and hastily escaped from the small confines of their room. 

Yuri watched the other leave before he got to his feet himself and stepped out of the room. He didn’t turn the same way Ghost did however as he walked towards the next room beside their one.

He quietly knocked a few times, hoping to slowly wake the other two so he didn’t alert them but he knew they would be concerned as to why Yuri was entering their room at two in the morning. 

“Ugh, ‘s open.” Came a tired voice from inside. Yuri pushed open the wooden door to find his two captains sitting up in their beds. 

Price, whose bed was located on the bottom bunks legs were swung off as he was rubbing his eyes to wake himself up. Soap wasn’t quite sitting up yet, with his elbows holding him up, but he looked more awake than Price. “What is it, Yuri?” Soap asked quickly. 

“Uh. It’s Ghost. He fell off of the ladder and woke me up before taking off.” Yuri felt a little guilty for having to wake the others up before a mission but he felt as if he would’ve been more guilty if he just went back to sleep. 

Suddenly, Soap had jumped down from the top bunk and was quickly slipping his boots and his jacket on. “Which way did he go?” The Captain asked quickly. Yuri wasn’t quite sure himself as he just pointed the way he saw Ghost take off. 

Quickly, Soap had made his way past Yuri as his search began for the Lieutenant. 

“Care to tell me what that was about?” Yuri asked Price who was already lying back down. Price responded with, “They’re close. Let Soap handle it. You don’t need to worry now, you can go back to bed.” Yuri just nodded and headed back for his room, sleep sounding nice. 

Soaps steps were quick as he was sure to check every room he passed. He knew Ghost had nightmares and how bad they got as one night back when Soap would sit by Ghost in the Medic block, he would be awoken by Ghost panicking on the bed. He couldn’t blame the man, he was sometimes honestly surprised how well Ghost still remained so level headed and calm despite the mans horrific past. But he figured when he slept was when he was most vulnerable to such thoughts. 

Soap had quickly adapted a habit to help Ghost by soothing him with waking him up calmly or even hugging him to just allowed the scared man to understand he was safe. So if there was anything Soap could do to help whenever Ghost had dreams, Soap would do it. 

He finally opened the door to the outside where he found Ghost leant against a cement wall, staring at the stars. He approached the man slowly and was slightly surprised when the other didn’t flinch at his arrival. 

“Rough night, ey?” Soap asked while his eyes followed Ghosts up into the sky. 

“You could say that.”

“You know Im not here to ask what happened. Just wanted to know you’re alright.” Soap spoke calmly. Ghost felt one corner of his lips curl upwards a little at the comforting words. “Yeah, I know.” 

“So you alright?” Soap asked, his eyes now turning towards Ghost. 

“Mm, I’ll be alright in a bit.” Ghost responded, honestly not to sure himself whether he was alright or not. 

“I won’t let anything like that happen to you again, Simon.” He wasn’t sure why he used Ghosts real name, it just felt right at the moment. 

“You can’t promise that, John.” 

“I’m going to try my darn hardest to make sure of it though.” 

Simon let out a deep sigh. His whole body felt warm considering that the wind was numbingly cold. He turned towards his Captain as John mimicked the actions. 

They moved closer until they could wrap their arms around each other, sharing a close hug. John let his hand soothingly rub Simons back as the two were silent for a moment. 

“Don’t ever leave my side, John.” Simon mumbled in the hug, just loud enough for the other to hear. “Wouldn’t Dream of it.” 

After a few more minutes Soap became aware of how cold it was even with his jacket on. He realised Ghost was only in a shirt and immediately worked on taking his jacket off and throwing it around Ghost. 

“You can return it to me in the morning. I’d rather you be warm right now considering you’ve been out here longer than me.” Soap said. “But we should be really getting inside now. You think you’ll be alright to go back to your room?” 

Ghost nodded and accepted the jumper, sliding his arms into it. “Okay then, let’s go.” Soap said as the two headed back to their rooms. 

Ghost found that it was actually strangely comforting to have Soaps jacket with him while he slept as he didn’t take it off upon arriving back at his room. 

However, Price did notice that Soap had returned missing the piece of material he remembered the man leaving with but instead of interrogating the man, he just smiled and went back to sleep, knowing exactly where it had gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ones a bit longer but I’ve been practicing my grammar so hopefully you can see some results. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to say last time, Happy New Year!

Chapter 6 - Operation Ghost.

The four men pushed through the murky and clouded river. Price and Soap led the group with Yuri and Ghost behind.

“Everyone keep a low profile, the militias all over this area.” Soap said lowly, in hopes to not alert any unwanted nearby attention. 

The small group slowly moved through the water until they approached the more shallow areas. Soon the water was low enough that they could move quickly and the flow of the water would cover their steps. 

“Keep your eyes open for enemy movement.” Price warned, the warning mainly focused towards Yuri as this was their first real mission with the newbie and Price wanted to make sure he was paying close attention to the way they moved and acted in certain situations. 

As they walked, Ghost grunted at how uncomfortably hot the air was around them, making it more unpleasant for him with his balaclava as it felt like a thick hot blanket covered his face. 

“If you’re so hot and bothered, Ghost, why don’t you just take it off.” Yuri asked with a grin, obviously curious about the identify of the man underneath the mask but to Soap, the words sounded like they were teasing Ghost and was almost enough to make him angry for bothering the Lieutenant. “Oi, enough with the chatter.” Price said quickly. “We are in enemy territory and if you alert anyone around us, it’s on you.” 

Yuri responded with a nod, obeying his Captains orders to shut up. 

They approached the road, paused when they heard the rubbling of vehicles headed in their direction. “Hide.” Price hissed as all four men split up to duck into the tall river grass. 

The cars slowed down to let one single man out to patrol the area before it calmly passed them. They stayed still while they waited for the Patrol to get into a vulnerable position. 

In one quick movement, Soap had yoinked the unsuspecting threat from above him and pulled him into the tall grass with him. Barely any noises of struggling could be heard before Soap emerged from the grass. “Clear.” He spoke before they continued heading down the path towards their objective. 

The group progressed down the dirt path until they reached an area with a large count of enemies. “Can’t take them, there’s too many. Keep moving.” Price stated. Crouched down, the four snuck past the large group with ease. All quite pleased with how effortlessly they were able to be stealthy. 

Once they arrived at the outskirts of a little village that would lead towards their goal, they paused to round up. 

Price lead the group through a small pathway but threw his hand up to halt the men behind him when he heard a threat approaching. Luckily it was only one man.

Price grabbed the unsuspecting mans shoulder and spun, throwing him against the wall. He then slammed his knife into the African mans neck and pulled it out again, watching as the man slumped against the ground. 

“We’re clear. Morons left this man patrolling by himself.” Price slid the knife back into its holster before returning to guiding the group. 

The team advanced until Soaps eye caught the factory ahead of them. “Alright, there it is. Ghost, you find a vantage point to cover us while we approach on foot.” He asked while turned to Ghost. “Roger.” Came Ghosts reply as he immediately headed off towards a ladder. 

“Okay Yuri, you’re with us.” Soap grinned as Yuri nodded in response. The three waiting for Ghosts go. 

“Okay, I’m in position. I’ve got eyes on you, you’re clear to go.” Ghost said through the earpiece. “Copy that, Ghost, Moving forward.” Price responded before the three advanced towards the factory. 

As they moved from cover to cover, Ghost was quick with covering them from above, making sure that any enemy’s walking towards the men he was protecting were eliminated before they got too close. 

“Okay. We’re in.” Price said. Ghost could see they had successfully arrived at the Factory and were breaching the perimeter. Soap quickly found cover once he was inside but to his surprise, there was no need for the cover at all. 

“It’s bloody empty.” Soap grunted, confused and annoyed at the situation. “Nikolai, this place is empty.” Price said through his speaker. 

“Dah, they must have moved the shipment towards they main base in a church towards the centre of town.” Came the response. “We are headed their now. Shit-! We are compromised!” 

Ghost could hear from the tower where he was that the gunfire had already started to rain down in his teammates position. “I’m headed your way.” Ghost responded with quickly before spinning around and leaving his little post up in the tower. 

He slid down the ladder before quickly retrieving his assault rifle and sprinting towards the battlefield. 

Soap noticed Ghost arrive to join the rest of them out of the corner of his eye. Ghost slid down beside Soap, using a crate for cover as the two of them, along with the help of Yuri and Price, pushed their way through the battlefield towards the inner village. 

“They’ve got a bloody Mortar on us!” Soap yelled before an explosion behind all of the men caused all the men to stop shooting and run for their dear lives. 

“Keep Running!” Ghost yelled as he climbed up on the roof, running along the sheets of metal. Soap followed behind Ghost, jumping down along with the man in front of him back onto the dirt where they continued their running. 

Behind them, they heard a frightening crash and turned to see Yuri smash through the roof of a building. “Yuri!” Soap yelled in concern. “I’m alright! I can see you guys, keep running!” Yuri responded to the worried others. 

“There, I see where they’re firing from.” Ghost pointed towards a tower surrounded by the militia. “Then let’s get there and man that Mortar ourselves.” Price said afterwards. 

——————————

Forcing their way through the village, the men managed to stay together until they were clear. “Don’t let your guard down, there could be soldiers anywhere.” Price stated as the four ran towards a building they would use as a path towards the church. “Soap the door.” 

Soap walked over to the white door and stepped back a few steps before charging towards it to which the wood immediately gave way to the Captains buff frame. 

“There’s the Church!” He shouted towards the rest of his group, although it did catch some unwanted attention around them. 

“Shite.” Soap growled as they all ducked behind anything they could use for cover whether that be destroyed cars, barrels, market tables or crates. 

A loud whirring noise that belonged to a helicopter broke all of them from their shooting. “Shit! The birds here to move the cargo!” Soap yelled, followed by a yell from Price, “We’ve got no time left, push forward to the Church!” 

And with that, they started forcing they way through the enemy lines as quickly as they could. They hurried up the stairs towards the church, upon reaching the top the church doors flew open and everyone inside shot towards the Task Force. 

“Hurry!” Price said through gritted teeth, shooting as many militia men as he could. They forced their way through the church towards the door towards the left side that led to the cargo. 

Both Yuri and Ghost stepped back before simultaneously charging towards the barrier that kept them from their objective. 

Their movement was already predicted by the militia as the moment they were in the opening, A man had tackled Ghost to the ground as Yuri was attacked by a dog. 

Price and Soap yelled out in anger as their cargo disappeared into the sky along with the copter. Price and Soaps bullets doing nothing to stop it. Yuri was able to wrap his hands around the dogs head before it could reach his throat and jerked its head to one side quickly, snapping the poochs head. 

Ghost however, his eyes were wide open as his mind replayed moments that happened long ago in his head. The feeling of being weighed down, trapped, unable to escape was too much for Ghost. Ghost kicked his legs and tried to attack the enemy on top of him but his attempts were useless against the man strangling him. 

Ghost was starting to see white dots around his vision, his dry lips gasping for air that couldn’t get in. But suddenly, the weight on top of him was lifted and he was able to breathe and see again. 

Soap had tugged the man off of Ghost and had him in a tight chokehold, muzzle of his M1911 pressed tightly against the attackers temple. 

The man pleaded for release, fingers clawing at Soaps arm but the bullet that pierced his head silenced him. 

“Ghost! Are you alright, mate?” Soap asked as he quickly headed over to help up his teammate. The moment his hand made contact with Ghosts shoulder though, the other man flinched away from him. “Don’t touch me.” Ghost said sternly, his head down as he avoided Soaps hand. 

“Ghost I’m just tryin’ to help you up.” Soap tried to say in a softer tone but the anger he still felt from earlier remained on his tongue. “And as I said, Don’t touch me.” Ghost quipped back before he stood up on his own. “I’m fine.” 

“Nikolai. It’s gone. We missed our window.” Price spoke defeatedly. Yuri peered inside one of the remaining but empty crates with a frown. “What do you think was in them?” He asked the Captain. Price shrugged before grinning. “We’ll ask Makarov when we find him.” 

Luckily, there was not much more threats they needed to worry about as they waited inside the church for exfil. Ghost sat away from the group with his head slouched downwards towards the cement floor. 

Soap stared at man across the room from him as he sat with Yuri and Price, all three of them silent. Occasionally Price and Yuri would look at Soap only to see that the Captain was still watching the other across the room. 

“Nikolai is outside. Let’s go men.” Price said finally. Waiting seemed like it took forever when no one spoke. They just said there, waiting for minutes to pass. 

The group stepped outside where the Cargo had been to find their bird waiting for them. 

They climbed in after each other. Price moving to sit beside Nikolai in the cockpit while Yuri and Soap sat on the chairs. 

Ghost once again sat away from them as he dangled his legs out of the side of the copter. Watching the land below them fly by them. 

This time, Soap tried to keep his eyes off Ghost. Instead, giving Yuri some attention. “So. How was it? Your first mission with the 141?” Yuri seemed a little surprise Soap was talking and not worrying over Ghost but he didn’t complain as now he had someone to talk to. 

“Good! We had a bit of stealth and a bit of action. Obviously I feel bad we didn’t get the cargo in time but we’ll always have another shot next time that we won’t fail.” Yuri said with hope in his voice. Soap nodded and slumped back against the chair, tired. 

It took a while for them to arrive back at the safe house but when they did, it was night and everyone else had already retired off to their rooms for the night. 

“I’m off to get some dinner. Anyone else?” Price asked as he stepped off the helicopter and onto the concrete ground. “Yeah, I’m starving.” Yuri said as he followed. 

Ghost didn’t say anything as he had already started walking away from the group. “Uh. I think I’ll check on him first. Maybe in a bit.” Soap said. 

Price and Yuri both decided to leave it at that and headed towards the cafeteria to fill their stomachs.

Soap followed Ghost into the building, following as the other walked straight for his room. 

Ghost was aware of the company behind him so as soon as he was inside he room he tried slamming the door. Unfortunately, a boot wedged it’s way in an stopped the door from shutting Soap out. “Ghost.” He started, pushing into the room. 

“Leave me alone, Mactavish.” Ghost grumbled, staring at his Captain with anger in his eyes. Though Ghosts sunglasses hid the colour of his eyes, Soap was able to see emotion that he held within them. 

Soap frowned, stepping into the room and closing the door behind them, staring down his Lieutenant.

“Ghost let me help. In any way that I can.” He said softly, stepping towards the other. Ghost watched carefully, he could feel his own hands twitching and shaking from where they were crossed against his chest. 

“Ghost talk to me.” Soap sighed. He had picked up that the man was obviously shaken up from before, and in reaction to that he had set up barriers in his mind. It wasn’t the usual Ghost acting right now, this was the reserved Ghost. The Ghost in front of him was too scared and too worried about getting hurt he forgot that Soap was only trying to help. 

Soap ran through his options. He wanted to bring Ghost back into reality, show him that he was right there and he was here to help. He needed to take Ghosts mind off whatever he was thinking first. 

So he decided to do something stupid. 

He moved forward, watching how Ghost watched every moment carefully in fear. And ever so gently he pressed his lips against the lips covered by the balaclava. 

This caught Ghost off guard, he quickly stepped back and stared at his Captain with eyes wide in shock. Well, that’s what he felt like doing, but his body had chosen another path. His eyes had closed and he had moved his hands to slowly bring up the bottom of the balaclava until it was just showing his lips and nothing else. 

Soap moved his head back to watch Ghost ride up his mask before returning the kiss, this time, it felt more intimate, more personal. And Ghost was quickly falling for it. 

Soap slid his hand behind Ghosts neck and tilted the shorter mans head back, deepening the kiss. Ghosts hands found their way to the jacket and armour that sat on Soaps chest and hurriedly took it off, their kiss breaking in the meantime. 

Ghosts mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening, he just knew he wanted it. The two sets of hands moving to remove all their clothing, besides Ghosts balaclava and glasses which he refused to remove. 

Before they knew it they were on the top bed of the bunk, bodies pressed tightly together as they shared kisses and embraces. 

Simons hands were raking down Johns back, Johns hands holding tightly onto the others hips as they moved in sync to each other’s movements. 

Once Johns mind finally woke to his senses about what he was doing, it was already finished. And he realised that it might not solve anything. Instead of an attempt to help Simon take his mind off of things bothering him, he might’ve left more scars for Simon to deal with. 

John cursed quietly, trying not to wake the other who had fallen asleep. His hands hiding the regret he felt on his face. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Ghost but as he remembered the way Simons teeth gritted when he had entered the younger man, he knew probably left some unwanted memories. 

John took one last look at the sleeping form on the bunk bed before sliding off the bunk and onto the floor. He rounded up his clothes that had been discarded on the floor and slipped on his shirt and pants. He scooped up his boots and then left, closing the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know it’s not the smut you all wanted but that will come eventually, I promise. ;)


	7. Chapter 7

The first difference that Ghost had noticed when he woke sometime in the morning, was the temperature. 

For starters, it felt like he had nothing on besides the thin blanket that surrounded his body. And then, a breeze was felt around the lower half of his face. 

Ghost sighed tiredly as he tried to rethink what had happened the night before that would have led to this outcome. After some deep thinking and replaying the previous day in his mind, Ghosts eyes widened when the memory entered his still half asleep mind. 

He had slept with his Captain. 

Disbelief and confusion clouded his mind as he tried to understand the situation he was now in and how he was suppose to act on it. 

Usually, waking up knowing that he had slept with someone normally wouldn’t be as big as a shock to Ghost. But waking up knowing he had slept with John, his Captain, his comrade, his friend! Made things a little tricker.

Ghost felt stuck. He wasn’t sure where to go or what to do. He wasn’t sure if he should leave the room and act like nothing had happened or if he should confront Mactavish and demand for answers. It was all twisted and Ghost felt sick. 

Ghost sat up in the bed and allowed his hands to find the bottom of his balaclava which had been hiked up to just below his nose. He quickly pushed it down and made sure it settled comfortably before he glanced around the room. 

His clothes were neatly piled on the desk with his boots neatly beside the door. He definitely knew that had not been the case last night. 

He remembered his hands along with soaps hurrying to take off both of their clothes, leaving them in a trail across the room from the door all the way to the bottom of the bed. But now they were all together on the desk.

For a second, he sat completely still, slowing his breathing so he could listen. He listened for any movement in the bed below him or any breathing but after a few moments he safely assumed he was alone. 

Being alone made it much more easier for Ghost to shuffle over to the edge of the bed, slide his naked body down the ladder and grab his clothes from the desk. He quickly threw everything on in case he was interrupted by someone walking in. Luckily, the intrusion never occurred.

Ghost sat down on the wooden chair next to the desk to put on his boots, tying the laces tightly before standing to adjust his look. 

He didn’t want it obvious he hurried to put the clothes on this morning so he took extra care in straightening out his green shirt and tucking it in neatly to his cargo pants. Once he was satisfied with his ‘I totally didn’t just get fucked’ look, he made his way to the door.

Ghost stared at the wood of the door for way longer than he needed to, taking deep breaths to control the anxiety that crept into his mind. He wasn’t sure how he was going to deal with talking to his Captain today so he came to the conclusion he was going to stay quiet until the other made a move. 

The idea and comfort knowing that he had a plan helped calm his nerves. But he knew it wasn’t going to be long until one of his emotions became unstable. Until then he was going to hold out for as long as he could. 

Ghost swung open the door and stepped out of the room, striding down the corridor.

Ghost knew that this time of morning would have the cafeteria swarming with soldiers trying to get breakfast but his growling stomach was getting more and more uncomfortable so he decided a quick trip wouldn’t hurt. 

Upon arriving at his destination, he pushed through the double doors and headed straight for the food line, not taking his eyes off at any second during his walk. 

Waiting in line seemed to be the hardest part. Ghost usually found himself looking around the room, listening to a story Yuri was telling or talking to one of his Captains about the day. But that morning Ghost had nothing to do or nowhere to look to stay safe so he just stared holes into the back of a mans head who was waiting in line in front of him. 

Moving up the line, Ghost soon retrieved a tray for his food, he was then able to move his gaze from the man in front of him to the array of food ahead of him. 

He knew exactly what he wanted, just a simple scrambled eggs would settle well for the day but for the sake of keeping his eyes off of things, Ghost pretended as if he was contemplating what to have. 

Once Ghost had scooped up a reasonable amount of eggs with a bottle of water to wash it all down. Ghost turned around, his eyes now looking for an empty table at the corner of the room to be alone but he felt an urge creeping at him to just take one quick glance around the room. 

‘One quick glance.’ his mind told him. ‘One quick glance wouldn’t hurt.’

So Ghost did it, he took once quick glance around the room. And boy did he regret it. 

His eyes locked with Yuri. Once Yuri had noticed Ghost was looking at him his mouth turned into a wide grin and his hand motioned for Ghost to come over. How could you say no to that?

Ghost grunted quietly to himself in frustration and started walking over to Yuri. As he got closer he noticed Yuris companion, a stupid Mohawk wearing idiot had his back turned to him, sitting across from Yuri. Dread began to flow through Ghosts veins. 

Neither Price nor Nikolai were present at the table and Ghost couldn’t help but feel a little relieved. He knew that if any glance or interaction happened between Ghost and Soap that seemed out of character, Price would notice. 

Ghost began to walk slower, trying to desperately figure out an escape plan so he could escape the soon to be awkward situation but he knew it was too late when he had arrived at the table. 

“Erm.” Ghost mumbled, already awkward and uncomfortable by just standing nearby the Captain. “Ghost! Good morning! Take a seat, Soap doesn’t bite.” Yuri said, grinning widely. 

Ghost felt Soaps eyes on him as he moved around the table, settling his stuff down beside Yuri and sliding into the seat. Yuri seemed caught off guard as Ghosts usual spot was right beside Soap. “I guess I don’t bite either.” Yuri said, voice filled with confusion.

“I’m glad I didn’t wake you this morning when I got up.” Yuri started with his usual morning chatter, “You seemed troubled last night, you were all angry after the mission and you must have been too stressed to change your clothes since you scattered them across the floor.” 

Ghost quickly shot a look towards Soap and felt nothing but fury as he saw a smirk plastered on the bastards face. 

Ghosts gaze fell back to his breakfast before he could unleash any anger onto his Captain. “Uh. Yeah.” He said, a little too quietly for the usual Ghost and Yuri seemed to notice. 

“Are you still stressed?” Yuri said, so innocently Ghost couldn’t even be mad. Sure, Yuri looked badass with his scars and his tattoos. But underneath that Yuri was just this tiny child that cares for everyone and everything. 

“You could say that.” Ghost murmured, earning a simple yet still confused nod from Yuri. It wasn’t enough to answer the questions that fluttered in the Russian mans mind but it was enough for now. 

Ghost had mastered the art of slightly lifting his balaclava from his face just wide enough so he could slip some breakfast into his mouth. However, as he took spoonfuls of eggs into his mouth, he could feel eyes burning into his head. He didn’t have to look up to know who the curious eyes belonged to but the awkward feeling of being stared at was enough for Ghost to lose his appetite.

“I’m off to the range.” Ghost said as he stood abruptly, stepping his legs over the seats and striding out of the room quickly. “Hm. Poor Ghost.” Yuri mumbled as he watched the Lieutenant walk away. Soap made an agreeing noise, his eyes facing down at the table. 

Soap felt a heavy guilty feeling linger over his shoulders. The Captain had his hands drenched in blood from all the years fighting for his country but he had never felt guilt like this before. 

He felt stuck. Not sure how to approach the situation. Should he ask Ghost if he was okay? Or should he let Ghost cool down for a while? It felt like no matter the approach he thought of, it would end up being a fight. 

Ghost was stubborn. Extremely stubborn and Soap had some real anger management issues. So when the two of them got fighting, it would never going to end with one of them backing down. Usually, Price would have to step in and scold them like children.

“I’m going to find Nikolai, We are trying to find a new lead that would help us get to Makarov.” Yuri said as he finished off his last bite of breakfast. Soap nodded, already finished breakfast a while ago and stayed back to keep Yuri company. “Alright. I’m probably going to head to the range. I’ll try and talk to Ghost, try and figure out why he’s all pissy.” Like it wasn’t a mystery to Soap. 

Both of the men rose from their seats and exited the cafeteria together, parting ways when they reached the staircase. Yuri had headed up the stairs while Soap went down towards the range. 

Soap walked into the shooting range and crossed his arms against his chest. His eyes watching the figure in front of him unload rounds into the targets in front of him, each time hitting the targets directly in the chest or head. 

“Ghost.” Soap finally said as he waited for Ghost to take a break from shooting. 

Ghost let out a grunt before he spun around to face his Captain. “Anything you need, Captain?” Ghost said sarcastically, he knew exactly why the older man had come. 

“Don’t play dumb with me, Ghost. What’s on your mind.” Ghost placed down his sidearm on the bench beside him and stepped forward to the man in front of him, threateningly close to his face. “Why don’t you tell me what’s on your mind, Captain. Considering you were the one to initiate last nights events.” 

Soap was slightly caught off guard, not expecting sudden outburst. “You.. just looked like you needed the help.” Soap said, his voice calm as he stared at the almost fuming man in front of him. 

“Needed the help!? I was attacked and almost strangled to death on my first mission back from almost bloody burning to death and even when I try to go back to my room to calm my fucking mind down, you follow me into my fucking room and fucked me on my fucking bed all because I looked like I needed your bloody help. Some fucking Captain you are.” Ghost spat as he pushed past Soap, walking towards the door to the room.

Soap was frozen, staring at the space where Ghost had just stood and yelled at him inches from his face. “Ghost.” He began, turning around to watch the angry man storm from the room. “Don’t speak to me.” Ghost grumbled, slamming his door on the way out. 

“Bollocks.” Soap mumbled quietly to himself. Well, his plan to try and sort things out with Ghost had just failed miserably, time for the backup plan. 

“Price, I need your help.”

The door flung open as the younger Captain stepped into the room. Price, who was leant down against a table scanning over a map turned his head towards the loud entrance. 

“Soap.” He greeted the taller man as he straightened himself up, placing his hands on his hips. He mentally prepared himself for whatever Soap was about to tell him. 

Soap walked across the room, face twisted in all sorts of conflicting emotions as he tried to figure out a simple way to break down the situation to Price. 

“So. What does one do when they seriously fuck something up with someone else?” He said, dragging over a chair to sit on. Price nodded and leant his hip against the table as he took a moment to think. 

He knew this encounter had been approaching ever since they arrived back at the base. Price knew from the moment he saw the way Soap looked at Ghost while they waited for extraction the previous day that something bad was going to happen. He just wasn’t sure what the hell it was. 

“Hmm. How badly do you think you fucked this up?” Price said. “Badly.” Soap responded. 

“Did you try talking to him calmly?” Price asked, emphasising on the last word on that sentence. “I tried, he just yelled in my face and stormed off.” 

“Well it seems like to me you’ve dug yourself a pretty deep hole there, Soap. And out of anyone you could have picked a fight with, you chose Ghost.” Price shook his head, now feeling the situation Soap was dealing with. 

“You aren’t helping, old man.” Soap sighed, his hands rubbing his tired face. That previous night he was unable to get to sleep, mind filled with uneasy thoughts that wouldn’t let him get away. “When you spoke to Ghost earlier, what exactly did you say to him?” 

“Nothing. He just got all pissy and stormed off.” Soap grumbled angrily, his arms were crossed as a scowl was present on his face. 

“Hm. Seems to me like you need to talk to him. Properly this time.” Price started, turning back to his paper. “By properly I mean you both talk to each other. Now get your ass over here so we can work out this next mission.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m dreading for the arrival of back to school. :(

**Author's Note:**

> There will be more chapters I just don’t know how to say there will be more.


End file.
